It’s a…

Today is the day when we are finally able to share the gender of our new little one with you all. You are going to think I have lost my mind when I tell you how long we have known the gender but I’ll explain why I haven’t shared until now.

I have previously been very open about the fact that we experienced a devastating loss when our identical twin boys were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome at our anatomy ultrasound four years ago. Due to the syndrome, we experienced a crushing loss when they were born far too prematurely only days later. Because we had already had our sweet boys, and then along came our little love Ryan, David and I “knew” that we would have another boy. Because of all that we have been through, we truly would have been happy either way. Healthy baby. Healthy baby. Our instincts were simply so strong about having a boy. We asked all of our closest friends and loved ones to guess and, interestingly, every female guessed boy and every male guessed girl. Crazy, right?

Well, due to my lovely label of “Advanced Maternal Age”, we opted for a vast amount of genetic testing at just 12 weeks. The genetic results came in less than a week later…those results included gender!

Because David and I wanted to find out at the same exact moment, we asked that the results be sent in a special email. It was such a strange feeling to be anxious about the gender but also feel so confident that we already knew it would read, “Boy”.

The genetic counselor called to say that she had sent over the email containing the gender of our next little one. I immediately called David and we decided to find out together over the phone. There was no way would be able to wait until he was home from work that day! I opened the email and staring at me were the words, “It’s a girl!” I yelled those exact words to David and then literally became light-headed. I was in absolute shock! Beyond ecstatic but in shock! David as well. We both sat there repeating things like, “Really?” and “No way!”

I have said since I was approximately seven or eight years old, “When I grow up, I am going to have a boy and then I am going to have a girl three years later…just like my brother and me!” Obviously, I thought I could map out my life at that age and you learn over time that there is a plan for you. Not always a smooth ride but a plan nonetheless. With age grew the strong sense of not caring if we would have another boy or bring a girl in the family. As I mentioned previously, we just wanted a healthy little one. However, I do think it is so special for us to have a girl to complete our family. I have an older brother and it’s just the two of us and David is an older brother to his sister and it’s just the two of them. We are recreating our family circle and I think it’s pretty darn awesome. Plus, I CANNOT WAIT to see David with a little girl. It’s going to melt my heart.

Thankfully, Ryan continues to come around to the idea of having a sibling and just announced last week that he would like a brother. Ummm…sorry, kid. He does talk about his sister when prompted so he’s not in total denial. We have four more months to keep working on improving his excitement level.

Why did I wait so long to share the gender? I honestly did not believe that it was a girl. My doctor (who is basically like family at this point in our journey) teased me about the fact that the genetic test is 98-99% accurate. My response was, “Yes, and I always fall in that 1-2%.” I just wanted to make it until out anatomy ultrasound to 100% confirm that there was in fact a little girl growing in my belly! I’m insane, I know. I am certain that part of it was a defense mechanism. I was SO happy to have one of each that I wanted to completely confirm before allowing myself to really settle into the idea of a boy and a girl.

Needless to say, we are beyond thrilled to be expanding our family and welcoming a little girl!

Thank you all so much for sharing along!!!

…and perhaps the picture which most accurately illustrates how Ryan feels about having a sister…

Finally, on the keeping-it-real tip, Ryan enjoying his Mounds bar reward for being in these pictures…